Hello, big news over at the Criterion Collection. The tastemaking DVD company is aggressively moving into the digital distribution field in a big way. Currently they are offering $5 rentals that allow you have a movie digitally for one week.
Of course you can’t just jump in and pick whatever film you want, but each week they will offer up four new films for digital rental. This week they’re offering up, Ronald Neame’s “The Horse’s Mouth,” the-always polarizing Catherine Breillat’s “Fatgirl,” Peter Brook’s classic “Lord of the Flies” and the sexually-charged and once banned, “Sweet Movie” by Yugoslav provocateur Dušan Makavejev.
The new site also offers up specialty items like liner notes and essays on their films. For example you can read the “Bottle Rocket” liner notes which republishes the 2000-era Esquire article that Marty Scorsese wrote about the film that is included in the new disc (Maybe this is why Esquire took the article down from their site; frankly, we were hoping for Marty to write something new).
Criterion has also set up a little video orientation tour to guide you through the new changes in the site. Or at least explain them in a creative, fun way.
